Hiking 101

While exploring on our nature walk at the Discovery Center, I thought about another fun, science related activity that would be great to do (as a field trip) with my future class: HIKING!  Since my husband and I are contemplating moving back to East Tennessee once I complete my program, I thought it would be so neat to take my class on a field trip to hike through Cades Cove (or anywhere in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park) and let them experience the great outdoors while also learning about natural science.

Since my husband and I love to hike so much, I figured I would share some pictures of hikes we have taken in the Great Smoky Mountains!

Mt. Leconte (near Gatlinburg, TN)

To get information about Mt. Leconte you can look here!  Also, you can stay in the lodge at the top of Mt. Leconte, and if you are interested in reading about that then you can look here!  To sum it up, the hike we took up to the top (the Alum Cove Trail) was 11 miles roundtrip, which wouldn't have been bad had our 72-year old grandmother not injured herself on the way back down.  It ended up taking us 13 hours to get out of there, and it was PITCH BLACK DARK when we made it to the car!  We all felt like we were on the Blair Witch Project, and you could hear a pin drop with how quiet we all were.  Once we got to the car we all explained how terrified we were and how we could have walked up on a panther, bear, snake or anything else that could have had us for a late night snack!  We didn't think to pack flashlights because we figured we would be off the trail long before dark, however with our set back we were in the dark for over an hour.  We had one cell phone battery left (that was fading fast), and the head lamp of a lodge worker that he so graciously gave us.  The craziest part was that two lodge workers passed us on the way back down the mountain, and clearly saw that our grandmother was hurt, but they just offered us their head lamp and kept trucking down the mountain!  What great customer service, huh?!  Anyway, we made it out alive, obviously, and we did see some breathtaking views and we have a story to pass down for generations to come.  It's a "fond" memory that we still joke about to this day when we go visit our aunt and grandmother over in East Tennessee!  If you aren't afraid of heights (i.e. scaling the side of a cliff, hanging on to a cable that is bolted into the mountain) then you should definitely give this hike a try!  I definitely had to fight my fear of heights that day (on several occasions)!  It tested faith, fears and relationships, but we are all more "well rounded individuals" because of it! :)

Trey and I at the beginning of the hike.

Aunt Tia and Nany at the beginning of the hike.

Isn't she the cutest?!  She tears up the trails like she is our age!  I hope and pray I am in as great of condition as she is at her age!

Trey and I climbing the Alum Cave steps.

Trey and I mid-hike.

A before and after shot (13 hours apart).  We were screaming praises when we finally crossed the last bridge before our car.  *Funny side note:  Our other aunt had already called the Park Ranger and sent him looking for us, and we passed him as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot.

Cosby Campground & Low Gap Trail (Cosby, TN)

This would be interesting to research with the children after the field trip to find out what this was and information about it.  Even us "old folks" were curious about what it was.

I thought it might also be fun (if possible) to picnic with the children.  This could integrate curriculum by using math, history and science.  You could talk with the children about how to build the fire, who throughout history used this as their main form of eating (meal prep), and also you could tie in math in many different ways.

Cades Cove (Great Smoky Mountains National Park)

There are so many wonderful activities that you could do with the children in Cades Cove.  You could hike (or go on nature walks), ride bikes, horseback ride, picnic, walk through the historical buildings in the Cove and learn all about the people who settled there long ago, and many other fun activities.  To learn more about what you can do at Cades Cove look here!  Below are a few pictures taken by me and my husband while hiking and enjoying Cades Cove.

I definitely encourage you to check out the Tennessee State Parks website, because there are great state parks all around and there is much fun to be had and science to be learned at all of them!